High Blood Pressure 

At the Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care, you can access exceptional care for high blood pressure. As a global leader in cardiovascular medicine and surgery, we are an academic-based, national and international referral site for high-risk and complex cases. For more than a century, we have been at the forefront in treating heart disease.

Ranked in the top 1% of all hospitals in the nation for Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery according to U.S. News & World Report, our specialists are passionate about uncovering the latest diagnostic approaches and treatments that can improve outcomes. Backed by a multidisciplinary team of specialists, Montefiore Einstein continues to make advances in the treatment of heart disease. In recent years, we have expanded our programs in advanced cardiac imaging, heart failure and interventional cardiovascular medicine and assembled a world-renowned cardiothoracic surgical team.

When you trust us with your care, you can expect compassionate, personalized treatment plans that meet the highest standards for quality and safety. In addition, we offer patients a full choice of support services, from nutritional guidance to rehabilitative therapies.

When you need high blood pressure care, turn to our dedicated providers who will develop a highly personalized treatment plan specific to you.

Also known as Hypertension

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High blood pressure is a common disease in which blood flows through blood vessels, or arteries, at higher than normal pressures. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries as the heart pumps blood. High blood pressure, sometimes called hypertension, is when this force against the artery walls is too high. Your doctor may diagnose you with high blood pressure if you have consistently high blood pressure readings.

To control or lower high blood pressure, your doctor may recommend that you adopt heart-healthy lifestyle changes, such as heart-healthy eating patterns like the DASH eating plan, alone or with medicines. Controlling or lowering blood pressure can also help prevent or delay high blood pressure complications, such as chronic kidney disease, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and possibly vascular dementia.

Explore this Health Topic to learn more about high blood pressure, our role in research and clinical trials to improve health, and where to find more information.

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Source Agency: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Captured Date: 2016-03-11 14:20:00.0

Many factors raise your risk of high blood pressure. Some risk factors, such as unhealthy lifestyle habits, can be changed. Other risk factors, such as age, family history and genetics, race and ethnicity, and sex, cannot be changed. A healthy lifestyle can lower your risk for developing high blood pressure.

Blood pressure tends to increase with age. Our blood vessels naturally thicken and stiffen over time. These changes increase the risk for high blood pressure.

However, the risk of high blood pressure is increasing for children and teens, possibly because of rise in the number of children and teens who are living with overweight or obesity.

High blood pressure often runs in families. Much of the understanding of the body systems involved in high blood pressure has come from genetic studies. Many different gene are linked to a small increase in the risk of developing high blood pressure. Research suggests that certain DNA changes as an unborn baby grows in the womb may also lead to high blood pressure later in life.

Some people have a high sensitivity to salt in their diet. This can also run in families.

Lifestyle habits can increase the risk of high blood pressure. These habits include:

• Eating unhealthy foods often, especially those with too much sodium and not enough potassium. Some people, including African Americans, older adults, and people who have chronic kidney disease, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome, are more sensitive to salt in their diet.
• Drinking too much alcohol or caffeine.
• Not getting enough physical activity.
• Smoking or using illegal drugs such as cocaine, “bath salts,” and methamphetamine.
• Not getting enough good-quality sleep.

Some prescription and over-the-counter medicines can make it more difficult for your body to control your blood pressure. Medicines that can raise your blood pressure include antidepressants, decongestants (medicines to relieve a stuffy nose), hormonal birth control pills, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen.

Other medical conditions change the way your body controls fluids, sodium, and hormones in your blood. Other medical causes of high blood pressure include:

• Certain tumors
• Chronic kidney disease
• Metabolic syndrome
• Overweight and obesity
• Sleep apnea
• Thyroid problems

High blood pressure is more common in African American and Hispanic adults than in white or Asian adults. Compared with other racial or ethnic groups, African Americans tend to have higher average blood pressure numbers and get high blood pressure earlier in life. Experiencing discrimination has been tied to high blood pressure. In addition, some high blood pressure medicines may not work as well in African Americans.

During pregnancy, African American women are more likely than white women to develop preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy disorder that causes sudden high blood pressure and problems with the kidneys and liver.

Men are more likely than women to develop high blood pressure throughout middle age. But in older adults, women are more likely than men to develop high blood pressure.

Women who have high blood pressure during pregnancy are more likely to have high blood pressure later in life.

Recent research has shown that factors such as income, your education, where you live, and the type of job you have may contribute to your risk of developing high blood pressure. For example, working early or late shifts can raise your risk.

Experiencing danger or harm as a child has also been tied to a higher risk of developing high blood pressure.

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Source URL: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/subscribe/3600

Source Agency: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Captured Date: 2018-05-11 16:28:00.0

Everyone age 3 or older should have their blood pressure checked by a healthcare provider at least once a year. Your doctor will use a blood pressure test to see whether you have consistently high blood pressure readings. Your doctor will talk to you about heart-healthy lifestyle changes to help prevent or manage your blood pressure.

Your doctor will use a blood pressure test to see if you have higher-than-normal blood pressure readings. The reading is made up of two numbers, with the systolic number above the diastolic number. These numbers are measures of pressure in mm Hg. To learn more about systolic and diastolic pressure, visit How the Heart Works.

A blood pressure test is easy and painless and can be done in a doctor's office or clinic. A healthcare provider will use a gauge, stethoscope, or electronic sensor and a blood pressure cuff to measure your blood pressure. To prepare, take the following steps:

• Do not exercise, drink coffee, or smoke cigarettes for 30 minutes before the test.
• Go to the bathroom before the test.
• For at least 5 minutes before the test, sit in a chair and relax.
• Make sure your feet are flat on the floor.
• Do not talk while you are relaxing or during the test.
• Uncover your arm for the cuff.
• Rest your arm on a table so it is supported and at the level of your heart.

If it is the first time your provider has measured your blood pressure, you may have readings taken on both arms.

You can also take your blood pressure at home or at a pharmacy. Visit Measure Your Blood Pressure for more information.

For most adults, a normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mm Hg. Your blood pressure is considered high when you have consistent systolic readings of 130 mm Hg or higher or diastolic readings of 80 mm Hg or higher.

For children younger than 13, blood pressure readings are compared with readings common for children of the same, age, sex, and height. Read more about blood pressure readings for children.

Talk to your doctor if your blood pressure readings are consistently higher than 120/80 mm Hg. NHLBI-supported research indicates that systolic blood pressure greater than 120 mm Hg can be increasingly harmful to health. Note that readings above 180/120 mm Hg are dangerously high and require immediate medical attention.

A heart-healthy lifestyle can help prevent high blood pressure from developing. To live a healthy lifestyle:

• Choose heart-healthy foods that are lower in sodium (salt) and are rich in potassium. Fruits and vegetables are high in potassium. For more ways to limit your sodium, visit the DASH eating plan page or print our Tips to Reduce Salt and Sodium handout.
• Avoid or limit alcohol
• Get regular physical activity. Even modest amounts can make a difference.
• Aim for a healthy weight
• Quit smoking
• Manage stress
• Get enough good-quality sleep

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Source URL: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/subscribe/3608

Source Agency: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Captured Date: 2018-05-11 16:29:00.0

For most people with high blood pressure, a doctor will develop a treatment plan that may include heart-healthy lifestyle changes alone or with medicines. A risk calculator can help your doctor estimate your risk of complications and choose the right treatment. A healthcare team can help you best manage your blood pressure and prevent complications. This team may include your doctor, a nutritionist, a pharmacist, and specialists for any conditions you may have, including those related to your heart.

If your high blood pressure is caused by another medical condition or medicine, it may improve once the cause is treated or removed.

Your doctor may use a risk calculator to estimate your risk of having a stroke or heart attack or dying from a heart or blood vessel disease in the next 10 years or throughout your lifetime. This information can help your doctor choose the best treatment to prevent complications.

For example, the Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) Risk Estimator considers your cholesterol levels, age, sex, race, and blood pressure. It also factors in whether you smoke or take medicines to manage high blood pressure or cholesterol.

If you have high blood pressure, your doctor may recommend that you adopt a heart-healthy lifestyle to help lower and control high blood pressure.

• Choose heart-healthy foods such as those in the DASH eating plan. NHLBI-funded research has shown that DASH combined with a low-salt eating plan can be as effective as medicines in lowering high blood pressure. Visit Living With the DASH Eating Plan or see Tips to Reduce Salt and Sodium.
• Avoid or limit alcohol. Talk to your doctor about how much alcohol you drink. Your doctor may recommend that you limit or stop drinking alcohol. You can find resources and support at the Alcohol Treatment Navigator from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
• Get regular physical activity. Many health benefits result from being physically active and getting the recommended amount of physical activity each week. Studies have shown that physical activity can help lower and control high blood pressure levels. Even modest amounts of physical activity may help. Before starting any exercise program, ask your doctor what level of physical activity is right for you
• Aim for a healthy weight. If you are an adult who is living with overweight or obesity, losing 5% to 10% of your initial weight over about 6 months can improve your health. Even losing just 3% to 5% of your weight can improve blood pressure readings.
• Quit smoking. Visit Smoking and Your Heart and our Your Guide to a Healthy Heart. Although these resources focus on heart health, they include basic information about how to quit smoking. For free help and support to quit smoking, you can call the National Cancer Institute’s Smoking Quitline at 1-877-44U-QUIT (1-877-448-7848).
• Manage stress. Learning how to manage stress and cope with problems can improve your mental and physical health. Learning relaxation techniques, talking to a counselor, and finding a support group can all help.
• Get enough good-quality sleep. The recommended amount for adults is 7 to 9 hours of sleep a day. Develop healthy sleep habits by going to sleep and getting up at regular times, following a calming bedtime routine, and keeping your bedroom cool and dark.

Changing habits can be hard. To help make lifelong heart-healthy changes, try making one change at a time. Add another change when you feel comfortable with the previous one. You’re more likely to manage your blood pressure when you practice several of these healthy lifestyle habits together and can keep them up.

When healthy lifestyle changes alone do not control or lower high blood pressure, your doctor may prescribe blood pressure medicines. These medicines act in different ways to lower blood pressure. When prescribing medicines, your doctor will also consider their effect on other conditions you might have, such as heart disease or kidney disease.

Keep up your healthy lifestyle changes while taking these medicines. The combination of the medicines and the heart-healthy lifestyle changes can help control and lower your high blood pressure and prevent heart disease.

Talk to your doctor if you have any concerns about side effects from the medicines. He or she may change the dose or prescribe a new medicine. To manage high blood pressure, many people need to take two or more medicines. This is more likely in African American adults.

Possible high blood pressure medicines include:

• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors to keep your blood vessels from narrowing as much.
• Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) to keep blood vessels from narrowing.
• Calcium channel blockers to prevent calcium from entering the muscle cells of your heart and blood vessels. This allows blood vessels to relax.
• Diuretics to remove extra water and sodium (salt) from your body, reducing the amount of fluid in your blood. The main diuretic for high blood pressure treatment is thiazide. Diuretics are often used with other high blood pressure medicines, sometimes in one combined pill.
• Beta blockers to help your heart beat slower and with less force. As a result, your heart pumps less blood through your blood vessels. Beta blockers are typically used only as a backup option or if you have other conditions.

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Source Agency: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Captured Date: 2018-05-11 16:32:00.0

It is important to have regular blood pressure readings taken and to know your numbers, because high blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms until it has caused serious problems.

Undiagnosed or uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to serious health problems:

• Aneurysm
• Stroke
• Chronic kidney disease
• Eye damage
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Peripheral artery disease or carotid artery disease
• Vascular dementia

Watch this video to learn more about why high blood pressure is such a problem.

This video shows how high blood pressure damages your artery walls over time and can lead to life-threatening health problems. Medical Animation Copyright © 2022 Nucleus Medical Media, All rights reserved.

High blood pressure in pregnancy can raise the risk of later heart and blood vessel problems for both the mother and her child.

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Source URL: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/subscribe/3601

Source Agency: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Captured Date: 2018-05-11 16:30:00.0